


I'm Glad Your House Was Demolished

by DonTheRock



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Character, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, F/F, Fluff, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, No Smut, Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 21,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23322817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonTheRock/pseuds/DonTheRock
Summary: When a demolition company accidentally demolishes the wrong houses, Kira needs to find a place to stay while her family fights for legal remedies. Buffy's mom happens to offer her house up to one of the families affected, and Buffy is totally on board with this gesture until she realizes that the girl they're offering their house to is Kira.Inspired by a true story. (By that, I mean I saw a news report on a demolition company accidentally demolishing the wrong house, and I both died laughing and crying, because it was so horrible but also kinda funny).Written in Buffy's POV.
Relationships: Amber/Andi Mack, Buffy Driscoll & Kira, Buffy Driscoll/Kira, Cyrus Goodman/T. J. Kippen
Comments: 37
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

This is one of the most stressful things I've ever had to watch. My breath is tight, and my eyes stay wide to the point where they're getting dry, and I really should blink, but I can't. I just keep watching as Cyrus's shaky hand attempts to pull the Jenga block clean from its spot on the tower. He releases a huge breath of relief when he achieves his goal. 

"Okay," Jonah says. "My turn."

While he chooses his target, Cyrus checks his phone. His sudden smile lets me know that it can only be one person. 

"TJ?" I say. 

"Yes. He found a bakery that he claims has the best chocolate chocolate chip muffins ever."

"You and TJ are doing pretty good huh?" I respond. "Now that" —I gag a little when I say her name— "Kira is out of the way."

Jonah successfully removes a block from the tower, dropping it on the coffee table in my living room as he says, "What was that about anyway? Did she actually like TJ, or was she just trying to annoy you?"

"She hated my guts," I answer. "She just wanted to hurt my friends so that she could hurt me."

"But isn't that kind of—I don't know—stupid?" Jonah says. "Like, really what did she want to get out of it?"

"Who knows what goes through her head," I respond. "She's just an awful person who finds pleasure in other people's suffering."

I reach for a block from the tower, but the instant I try to pull it out, the friction causes the entire tower to rumble and collapse on the table. Cyrus and Jonah both cheer at my defeat. 

"Whatever," I mumble. "It's just a game."

That makes Jonah smirk as I begin cleaning up the pieces, scooping them into my hands to put in the box. While the three of us are taking care of that, Andi is lying on the sofa chair nearby with her legs up over one of the arm rests. Right as I drop the last block into the Jenga box, Andi's mouth falls open in response to something on her phone. 

"Oh my God," she mutters. 

"What?" Cyrus asks. 

"I just saw a news article, and get this." She kicks her legs down to sit normally on the chair. "'Demolition company accidentally demolishes seven of the wrong houses.'" 

"Wait, what?" I react. 

"Seven houses were demolished?" Jonah says in disbelief. 

"Yeah," Andi confirms. "I'm not making this up."

"Wow," I say. 

"That company's gonna be sued bad," Cyrus remarks. "And those poor people who don't have houses anymore. That's terrible."

"There's no way that's real," Jonah denies. 

Andi shoves the phone in his face for him to see, and after reading it, his eyebrows rise in shock. 

"Huh," he mumbles. "Wack."

The front door opening brings the attention over to my mom as she enters in. She gives a smile to me and my friends when she sees us. 

"Hi," she greets. "Sorry to interrupt."

"It's all G, Mrs. Driscoll," Jonah tells her. 

"Thank you, Jonah," she replies with a slight chuckle. Then she looks to me. "Buffy, I want to ask you something. There were seven families that lost their homes due to a company error yesterday."

"Yeah, I heard," I respond. "Andi literally just read an article on that."

"So some of the families are struggling to find places to stay, and I already talked to your dad, but we wanted your permission before we went out and contacted one of the families. Would you be okay with us inviting one to stay with us until they get back on their feet?"

"Yeah, of course," I say. 

What kind of heartless person wouldn't say yes to helping a family whose house was demolished? The only person I can think of like that would be Kira. 

"Great. I'll reach out to them. They'll likely be coming either tonight or tomorrow, so make sure your room is clean so that we aren't embarrassed when they walk by it."

"Will do," I respond. 

She leaves for the kitchen, and I turn back to my friends. 

"So," Jonah says, "you got Uno?"

_________________________________________

I wander into the kitchen, on a quest to find a snack, but as I turn around with two Oreos shoved in my mouth, I see my mom and dad entering in together with looks of surprise on their faces at the sight of me. 

"Honey, you know aren't gonna lose one if you eat them one at a time," my mom says. 

I crunch down on the cookies, dropping the uneaten parts into my hand while chewing the rest. After my parents witness my struggle, they move on to another topic, one more important than my Oreo-eating habits. 

"So the family is going to be getting here soon," Mom explains. 

"They're bringing along all the belongings they have that survived the demolition," Dad adds on. "Those will be stored in the basement, so just don't take anything from there thinking it's ours."

"Got it," I say. 

"The sleeping arrangements will be a little tight," my mom goes on. "The parents are going to take the sofabed in the living room. But they also have a daughter. Would it be okay if we blew up an air mattress for her to stay in your room? Your floor is big enough, and we thought it'd be more comfortable for her than sleeping in the kitchen—"

"It's fine, Mom. I don't mind."

"Thank you," she says with a gracious smile. 

"What are their names?" I wonder. 

"Oh, well, the parents are Paul and Crystal," my dad answers. "And the daughter's name is…um… I can't remember off the top of my head."

"I know she's around your age," Mom says. 

"Oh, cool."

Maybe I'll make a new friend out of this. Maybe they'll go to my school. What if it's someone I have classes with? That would be interesting. 

All of a sudden, the doorbell rings.

"That would be them," my mom says. 

I follow my parents over to the front door where they swing it open with friendly smiles. The man and woman standing on the porch shake my parents' hands almost as soon as they come face to face. 

"Hi," Mom says. "It's nice to meet you in person. This" —she gestures to me— "is our daughter, Buffy."

"Hello, Buffy," the woman, who I assume is Crystal, says. 

"Hi," I respond. 

"Our daughter's just grabbing some things from the car," the man, likely Paul, explains. He glances back to check for her, and as soon as he does, he says, "Ah, here she is."

In steps the last person on the planet that I thought it would be, and also the only person who could make me wish I had said no to letting a family stay with us. She looks just as shocked as me, but I guarantee I have more rage. 

"Buffy," Paul says, "this is—"

"Yeah," I cut him off. "We know each other."

The girl gives me a glare, which I shoot right back. Like hell am I sharing my house with Kira.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First short part, but it's also just the start. Thank you to @Chloeverleaf on Wattpad for coming up with this ship and letting me write a story about it. Thank you to all those who are actually taking the chance to read a Kuffy fic. I know this ship is unusual, but I have big plans. I love you all! Good night!


	2. Chapter 2

Ever since I was little, my parents would always tell me to practice kindness. They encouraged me to open the door for strangers, wave to the car that stopped for me to cross the road, and use my manners to ask for things. There was one phrase they said often. If someone doesn't have a song, sing them yours. That basically meant that if someone is missing something that you have, let them have yours and help them. Give them your food if they're hungry. Give them your coat if they're cold. Give them your house if they lack shelter. But that only applies to people. Kira is a devil, not a person.

My parents exchange looks with hers, none of them knowing why Kira and I are having a death glare contest right now. If looks could kill, we'd both be in our graves right now. Well, if looks could kill, then I'd surely have killed her before she could kill me. No way would I ever let her beat me at that. 

"Okay," my mom says, breaking the tension. "Buffy, will you please show Kira up to your room? I'll bring the air mattress up in a bit."

I turn my eyes to my mom, reluctant to do anything with Kira.

"Please?" my mom begs.

Here's the thing. Kira's a bitch. But my mom isn't. I guess it's probably good that my love for my mom is stronger than my hate for Kira. It's certainly good for Kira, because otherwise the snake would be sleeping in the kitchen. 

Through clenched teeth, I grit out my answer. "Sure."

I whip around and start up the stairs, purposefully going faster than Kira can comfortably keep up with the bag she's carrying. I open the door to my bedroom and take a second to appreciate how nice and clean it is before that piece of dirt steps into it. 

She drops her black duffle bag on the grey carpet then looks around at my room's purple walls with photos of my friends stuck all over. On my book shelf, several trophies from my childhood sports are displayed, covering the books that I never actually read. between my desk and my bed is a large space which is currently occupied by a rug that Andi made and embroidered for me during Winter break two years ago. 

"You'll be on the floor," I state. 

She purses her lips and looks down at the carpet, saying in a sarcastic voice, "Lovely." Then she looks a bit harder and says, "When was the last time you vacuumed? Last year?"

"Today, actually," I snarl. "But I probably should've left the dirt there. Would've helped you feel more at home."

She rolls her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. 

"Look, Kira, if you're going to stay in my house, you're going to have to follow a few rules."

"Your house?" she scoffs. "Did you pay for it?"

"Number one," I continue, ignoring her sass. "Everything you see around here is mine, and you don't touch it. Number two. When my friends come over, you stay away from us."

"Oh, that's right," she says with a smirk. "You're friends with my ex. I almost forgot."

"TJ is hardly your ex. You manipulated him into hanging out with you."

"Hmm. Or maybe he just saw how great I am."

"I doubt that. It's not possible to see something that doesn't exist."

Her eyes narrow in loathing, which only assures me that I've won this battle. 

"Number three," I say. "You will keep your attitude in check. Hard, I know, but just try."

"Wow," her sarcastic voice drips out. "This coming from you."

"Number four—"

"You know what," she cuts me off, "I don't need to listen to your stupid rules, so just save your breath."

She stomps out of my room, and a second later, I hear a door slam. I peek out into the hallway to see the light to the bathroom on through the door cracks. While I'm busy focusing on that, my mom manages to sneak up behind me, and I'm startled by her voice. 

"How are you doing?"

I spin around to see her holding a deflated air mattress and an electric pump. 

"Mom," I say, "you don't realize it, but you let a monster into your house. If she ever tries to offer you food, don't take it. It'll probably be poisoned."

"Sweetie, what do you have against Kira?"

I never told her the story, because that was back when nobody knew about Cyrus's crush on TJ, and I wasn't going to run the risk of my mom talking to his mom, because then his mom would tell everyone she knows. Instead, I just kept it to myself. Even when Kira was just a girl on the basketball team, I only ever referred to her as the new girl around my mom.

"Where do I even start?" I reply. "First, she was super arrogant when she was on the basketball team. Then when I kicked her off, she went and manipulated TJ into hanging out with her just to make me mad by hurting Cyrus. And she's also just straight-up mean."

My mom puts a hand on my shoulder and gives me an understanding smile as she says, "Buffy, I know you don't like her, and you may not think she deserves your forgiveness—"

"She doesn't."

"But you are a good person, and I know that you can be the bigger person and treat her with kindness and respect. Remember what I say. If someone doesn't have a song—"

"Sing them mine, yeah, yeah. Well, I'm losing my voice today."

My mom shakes her head at me before going into my bedroom to lay out the air mattress. While the pump makes its loud buzz to let us know it's working, I continue our debate, feeling like she's mad at me. 

"Are you seriously expecting me to get along with her?"

"I expect you to try," Mom replies. "She just lost her house. She's going through a huge change right now, and she could really use someone to be nice to her."

I let out a huff of annoyance and say, "Fine."

"Thank you."

"But don't expect us to be best friends or anything. It'll be an accomplishment if I can manage to say her name without gagging."

"As long as you're trying."

My mom removes the pump from the mattress and plugs the hole to keep the air from being released. Then she stands up and gives me a kiss on the forehead. 

"Good night, sweetheart."

"Night," I mutter. 

After she leaves, I go over to my chest and pull out a pair of pyjamas. Rather than change into them now, I take them to the washroom, since Kira will be in the room soon. But when I get to the washroom, she's somehow still in there. After waiting patiently for another minute, I get frustrated and bang my fist on the door. 

"Times up!" I shout. 

In less than a second, the door swings open, and Kira steps out, giving me another glare. But this time, her eyes are a little red, like she's been crying. I'm not one to handle emotions well, and honestly I didn't think Kira even had any, so I just stand firm and wait for her to get out of the way. 

"Remember that we share this bathroom," I tell her. 

"Whatever," she mumbles before pushing past me back to my bedroom. 

Choosing to ignore her sass, I go into the bathroom and get changed into my pyjamas. I go through my nightly routine, but as I reach the last step, I realize my floss is already sitting on the counter and not in the cabinet where it should be. Angry, I speed-floss my teeth and shove the plastic case back in the cabinet before storming into my room to find Kira sitting on the air mattress. She's staring at her phone while half-tucked in a sleeping bag that my mom must've brought up while I was in the washroom, and she'a already changed into burgundy pyjamas. 

"Number five," I say. "Get your own floss."

She looks up at me with a glower even colder than earlier and states bluntly, "Buffy, my house was destroyed. Sorry, but the dental floss didn't make it."

"Then how did your toothbrush make it?"

"It didn't," she retorts. "I had to buy one today."

"Then why didn't you get floss while you were at it?"

"Are you really so dense that you can't comprehend that maybe I've had a lot of things to think about?"

I blow that off and close my door before flicking off the light. While I walk over to my bed in the dark, Kira glances at me in confusion. 

"We're going to bed now?" she says. "It's only ten."

"There's school tomorrow," I say.

Okay, so I don't usually go to bed this early, but due to the events of tonight, I think I'll be needing the extra sleep. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll wake up and find out that this was all a nightmare and Kira isn't living with me. 

While I pull my own bed covers over my body, Kira lies down, resting her head on the pillow and tugging the sleeping bag tight to cover her shoulders. I attempt to go to sleep, but it's hard when there's a demon in my room right next to me. A good half hour goes by of me tossing around in my sheets, trying to find a comfortable position to rest. When I turn over once more, my eyes float open, and I see Kira staring up at me with eyes that I could almost describe as sad. 

"Why are you looking at me?" I interrogate. 

She immediately rolls onto her back, scoffing, "I'm not. Why would I ever want to look at you?"

I don't partake in the arguement that could easily be started. I'm too exhausted from the past hour and a bit. If all goes well, she'll get another house soon, and I'll be able to sleep soundly again. The prospect of that helps me relax and drift to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually kinda like how this chapter turned out. It was really difficult to write, so I really hope you all like it. Thank you so much for giving this story a chance, and I have big plans coming up. Thank you! Love you! Bye!


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as I see my friends standing by the bike racks outside Jefferson, I pick up my pace to hurry over to them. Andi, Cyrus, Jonah, and TJ all give me smiles as I approach, but soon TJ's brows furrow as he sees something else. 

"Why was Kira walking behind you?" he asks. 

I want to just pretend she doesn't exist, but it's hard to do that when she's living in the same house as me and goes to the same school as me, which unfortunately means she walks the same path as me to get here. 

"You will not believe it," I say. "Remember how my mom was letting a family stay with us that lost their house?"

TJ looks confused, but the rest of my friends understand what I'm talking about. Cyrus takes the initiative to fill his boyfriend in on the situation.

"Seven houses were accidentally demolished."

"Accidentally?" TJ reacts. "How do you accidentally demolish a house?"

Cyrus shrugs. "New intern?"

While they talk, Andi tries to piece together my news on her own, and when she realizes it, her eyes go wide in shock. 

"Oh my gosh," Andi says. 

Jonah looks lost. "What?"

"Kira is living with me now," I state, my contempt obvious in my voice. "That snake is sharing my room."

"Are you serious?" TJ responds. "You have to live with her?"

I nod. "My parents are saying I should be the bigger person and be nice, but she's literally unbearable."

"On the bright side," Andi mutters, "it's not hard to be a bigger person than Kira. She's so relentlessly terrible that it shocks me."

"Has she tried to do anything to you yet?" TJ asks. "Like, has she put your toothbrush in the toilet or spit in your food?"

I rewind my memory back to check what the state of my toothbrush was last night. It was dry when I picked it up. Thank God. 

"Not yet," I answer. "She's just being normal, which for her means awful."

"I'm sorry," Cyrus says, shaking his head. "If I could take your place, I would."

"I wouldn't let you do that anyway," I say. "You're too nice. She'd rip you apart."

"How are you going to put up with her?" Jonah asks, finally joining the chat. 

I look over to where Kira is sitting alone atop a table and staring at her phone. I don't think I've ever seen her with friends. That's probably because literally no one could like her. It baffles me how she's okay with being a complete jerk to everyone and feels no guilt.

I bring my eyes back to my friends, sighing. "I have no idea."

_______________________________________

I've never had a more uncomfortable dinner in my life. Kira and I sit at opposite ends of the table from each other, both silent as ice as we pick at our bowls of spaghetti. Meanwhile, our parents sit on the longer ends across from each other, partaking in rapid banter, an attempt to soften the stiff air in the dining room. It doesn't work, but I don't stop them from trying. 

"Pat, your cooking is outstanding," Paul compliments. 

"Thank you," my mom replies. "I got some new cookbooks, and they're truly amazing."

"What is that in there?" Crystal asks, smacking her lips a couple times to taste the sauce better. "Basil?"

"Yes," Mom answers. "Also, some oregano and parsley."

"And the grilled mushrooms are fantastic," Paul adds. "You'll have to give us the recipe so we can make it."

"I'd be happy to share it," Mom replies. "In fact, once you get a new home, I'll lend you the book."

"That would be just dandy," Crystal says with a smile.

As I lift my fork again, I realize the table is vibrating. Bewildered by the anomaly, I look around to see what's causing it. When I locate the source, a leg bouncing on the floor beneath the table, I'm instantly annoyed. 

"Will you stop shaking your leg?" I snap. 

Kira immediately stops, but she doesn't say a word. My parents look humiliated, but I ignore them, bringing my eyes down to my plate again. Her parents, on the other hand, give mine understanding looks before carrying on with consuming their food. It hasn't even reached ten seconds before I feel the vibrating start up again, but I figure shouting at her isn't going to help since she already didn't listen to me the first time, so I just shove my food in my mouth and try not to notice it. 

"So how's work for you guys?" my dad asks, trying to break the tension. 

"It's going well," Crystal replies. "We're hiring some new employees at the moment. Paul is on a paid leave from the paper."

"They recognized that I would need some time to adjust before coming back to editing," Paul furthers. 

"Very nice of them," Crystal says. 

My parents haven't said much, but based on what I overheard during the rest of the afternoon, I believe Crystal is a manager at a movie theatre, and Paul is an editor for Shadyside Post. I've probably referenced one of the articles he's worked on before in a school project, which is weird to think about. 

"That is very nice," my mom agrees.

There's a brief pause where no one is saying anything before my dad picks the conversation up again on the topic of the birds starting to fly back. The rest of dinner goes on like this—a lot of talking until nobody knows what else to say, and then the presentation of a new topic, which holds strong until the four adults run out of words again. 

After supper, I bring my dishes over to the dishwasher and put them away. I see Kira come up beside me and slide her plate into a spot close to the centre of the rack.

"Not there," I say and move the plate to an outside slot. "We start from the outside and work our way in."

She just rolls her eyes and walks away like she couldn't be bothered to get it right. Deciding I'd rather not go back to my room where Kira will likely be heading soon, I come up with an alternative activity, one that will help me blow off the steam that I have welling inside me. 

"I'm going outside to shoot some hoops," I inform my parents. 

I guess I should've just left without saying anything, because my mom looks up from the sink where she's doing the dishes with a lightbulb in her head. 

"How about you invite Kira to join you? You both like basketball, right?"

I know she means well, but I'm starting to get really tired of trying to be the bigger person. Not wanting to disappoint my mom, I drag myself over to where Kira is standing with her arms crossed. 

With a clearly insincere tone, I ask, "Do you want to join me?"

"No, thanks," she dryly. "I have a history assignment to get started on."

"Bummer," I say with full sarcasm. 

She drops her glare and starts upstairs, while I whip around to head into the garage. Once I grab a basketball from the shelf, I open the garage door and dribble out toward the basketball net on the edge of the driveway. I take one shot, but it rebounds off the backboard. Apparently being emotional doesn't help my aim. 

My eyes are caught by the light flicking on above the garage. With the sun on its way down, there's enough shade on this side of the house to see inside my lit room. There, I watch as Kira sits down with her laptop at my study desk. I specifically told her not to touch anything that was mine, but of course she doesn't care. 

Extra annoyed now, I launch the ball again for the net, but it goes way over, landing on the street and bouncing up in a huge arc. I let out a huff before chasing after it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you all liked this! I really did. I have very big plans, so I hope you are all excited. I really want to take the time to make you all really ship Kuffy, because if you don't by the end of this story, then I failed. Anyway, have a lovely night.


	4. Chapter 4

A bedroom is as home as home can get. When done right, it reflects every part of you. The colour is likely your favorite. The shelves are filled with whatever interests you. Maybe you have a lava lamp or a dreamcatcher or something else a little out of the ordinary that gives insight on who you are. It is a place where you can go to be alone and work through life. It holds all your memories in photo albums, and secrets in journals. Those shoes you got from your first ever boyfriend, it stores those. The basketball your friends all signed when you were supposed to be moving away, that's there too. A bedroom is the most personal place anyone has. It's meant to be treasured and guarded—not shared with people who don't respect it. 

That's been running through my mind lately. The past few days have been a struggle of repressed anger and stares colder than winter itself. She touches my stuff sometimes. I know because things move. However, I try to keep my calm and let it go. I'm just happy that we've found an unspoken agreement that whenever one of us is in here, the other isn't. 

I sit on my bed, reading a book that I have to write an essay on for English, while Kira is downstairs in the living room doing...something. Right as I flip the page of _Brown Girl Dreaming_ , my mom's knock on the door causes me to jump a little. 

"Hi, honey," she says. "Paul, Crystal, your dad, and I are going out now, and I would really appreciate it if you'd do us a favour while we're gone."

"Sure. What is it?" I ask. 

"The kitchen could use some cleaning and reorganizing. Could you please take care of that?"

"Definitely."

I set down my book and follow my mom down the stairs. I'm ready to get down into the work until I see Kira standing in the kitchen already. No. No. No. No. This was a trick. I feel played. 

"Why is she here?" I question. 

"More hands make for faster work," my mom answers with a smile. 

She gives me a kiss on the head before joining my dad and Kira's parents at the door. I stand in shock as the four adults exit and lock the door behind them, leaving me to deal with Kira on my own. They really did that. 

Although I'm highly reluctant to do anything with her, I spin to face Kira and say, "I guess we should get started."

"Okay," Kira responds. Then she glances around, asking, "Um, what do I start with?"

I reach into the drawer by the sink and take out a cloth. After soaking it in warm water, I slap the sobbing square down in her hands. 

"Wipe down the counters and table," I tell her. 

With a roll of her eyes, she gets started on doing that, and I grab the broom from the pantry to sweep all the crumbs from the floor. We both work in silence for a long time, and I only break it when I realize that she's been scrubbing the same spot on the dining table for three minutes.

"What are you doing?" I question, going over to where she is. 

She stops her scrubbing and looks over at me, a spiralling strand of hair fallen from her ponytail now hanging loose over her face, as though she's embraced being Cinderella or something. If washing a kitchen is too much for her, I can't imagine how hard life will be for her in the future.

"This spot won't come off," she states. 

I let out an exasperated exhale and grab the cloth from her hand to deal with the white speckled stain on the black table on my own. After it doesn't come off from a light swipe, I begin putting more and more elbow grease into the motion, but after five minutes, it's still not gone. 

"It's not coming off," Kira points out.

"Yeah," I huff. "I can see that."

I continue again with the scrubbing, while Kira just watches with her arms crossed. 

"Got a blow torch around here?" she says after another moment. "I could burn it off."

That suggestion is so idiotic that I almost laugh. 

"You want to burn my table?" I say, turning to her. 

She shrugs. "It would get the stain off."

This time, I do laugh. I can't believe I'm actually laughing at something Kira said and not at how rude she is. Soon, a smile creeps onto the girl's face and the repressed chuckles seep out as she unfolds her arms. 

"Is that how you dealt with cleaning at your house?" I question. "You just burnt the dirt away."

"Well, cleaning one thing only transfers the dirt onto the cloth," she rationalizes. "Burning it gets rid of the dirt."

"Then it would be a pile of ashes."

"But ashes aren't dirt."

"No, but they're dirty," I argue.

"Hey, my grandpa is a pile of ashes," she retorts. "Are you calling him dirty?"

Another chuckles sneak out from my chest. 

"Oh my God," I say, not knowing how to respond to that. 

She smiles, as though this is another battle she's won, but it doesn't really feel like I lost. It doesn't even feel like a fight, actually. It just feels…normal.

Rather than return to working at the stain, she just moves on to another surface, and I go back to sweeping. But unlike before, there isn't awkward silence.

"What about your grandma?" I ask. "Is she around?"

"Yeah," Kira answers, "but she's in South Africa."

For some reason, I always imagined Kira was just a typical mean girl with no backstory, so hearing that there's actually something more to her is strange. 

"South Africa, huh?" I say. "That's really cool. Do you ever go there to visit?"

"On occasion," Kira answers. "Sometimes in the summer, or when there's an important thing, like my grandpa's funeral."

"How long ago was that?" I wonder. 

"About six years. It was weird at first, but I never really spoke to him often, so…I don't know. It was hard on my mom, since it was her dad. I was also only eight, so even when we were burying him, I didn't really understand what was going on."

"I thought you said he was cremated," I check, a little confused. 

"Yeah, but my family is Catholic," she explains, "so we also had to bury his ashes. It's a thing. I don't know why."

"Oh. Interesting."

Having created a clump of dirt on the floor, I go to grab the dust pan then bend down to sweep up the mess. As I do, I keep asking questions. 

"Does all your family live in South Africa?"

"My dad's side lives in Estonia," she explains. "We usually go there about once a year too. What about your family? Where are they?"

"They're all here," I answer. "My mom's in the military, so there was a while when she was deployed doing that, but now she's back, and I have some cousins and stuff who live here too."

"That must be nice," she says. 

She brings the filthy cloth over to the sink to rinse it clean, but while she does that, she notices the stack of dirty dishes nearby.

"Does your mom want us to wash these?" she asks. 

"Probably," I reply.

I bring the dustpan over to the trash to empty it, and when I've put it back, Kira is still just standing by the sink, not doing anything. 

"Have you never washed dishes before?" I question.

"No, I have. I just don't know where you keep the dish soap."

I walk over and pull open the cabinet beneath the sink. The dish soap makes a clack as I slap it down on the counter. 

"Okay," Kira says.

While she's busy starting with the dishes, I open up the drawer with the cutlery and clear it out so that I can wash it down, but Kira's voice gets my attention.

"Is that you?"

I look to where her eyes are, which is on a photo of me as a baby hanging on the wall in the dining room. 

"Yeah. I think I was one or two there."

"You were so cute," she says. 

She gazes at the photo for a bit longer, and I worry she's forgotten what she's supposed to be doing. 

"Uh, dishes?" I remind her.

She snaps back into focus in an instant, saying, "Right, yes."

We both carry on with our tasks, but my mind stays on her. I'm not saying I forgive her for what she did to TJ and Cyrus. I definitely don't. But I'm starting to think she might not be entirely awful. I mean, I guess all people can do both good and bad, so logically she must do some good. Wow. I sound like Cyrus. 

"Hey, Buffy, how do I clean this?"

I glance back to see her holding up a blender with hands covered in soap bubbles. 

"You have to take the pieces apart," I say, walking over to help her. 

She nods and starts trying to disconnect the parts. While she's doing that, I sweep my fingers through the bubbles, catching some in my hand. As I lift them up and blow them into the air where they float back down into the sink, I'm reminded of a memory. 

"Andi and I used to have soap bubble fights when we were younger," I say. 

Kira whips her eyes to me with a stern face, saying, "Well, don't be trying anything with me. If you get bubbles in my hair, I will scream."

"Noted," I respond, dropping the clump of bubbles back into the water. "Now I know what to do to get on your nerves."

That makes her laugh a little, and she brings her focus back onto getting the base apart from the blender cup. I notice her struggling, so I decide to help.

"Here," I say. 

I reach over and take the blender where her hands are working to twist it apart, but the second my hands touch hers, I see her flinch and let go, forcing me to do all the work on my own. She looks spooked, eyes wide and brain thinking something I can't hear. 

"You okay?" I check. 

It takes her a moment to find her words, but when she does, it's not what I want to hear. 

"I actually," she starts, "remembered that—that I have that school project, and it's really long, and I really need to work on that."

In less than a second, she pivots on her feet and rushes out of the kitchen. 

"Kira, we're supposed to be doing this together," I reply. 

She springs up the stairs, and I try again.

"Kira!"

She really just left me to finish cleaning this whole kitchen by myself. I guess it was too unrealistic to think that maybe she had a heart for one moment. There may be other sides to her, but that doesn't mean the selfish side doesn't still exist. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I really like this chapter, and I really hope you all liked it too. You learned a ton of stuff here that's going to come into play in the future. I have a bit more time, so I think I'm gonna write one more chapter, which will also be a big one, so yeah. I love you all. Have a lovely day!


	5. Chapter 5

Ever since the day she left me to clean the kitchen on my own, things have been...different. Kira hasn't been outright mean, but she also hasn't been nice. She's just been quiet. If she can avoid talking to me, she does, and even when I've tried to start conversations, she shuts me down by saying that she can't talk to me or shouldn't, or that she just straight-up doesn't want to. She still touches my stuff, and I still don't like it, but I've stopped caring. She mostly just keeps her distance, and I don't really know how to feel about that.

Even now, with Andi and Cyrus over to taste test the cinnamon rolls that my mom is planning to make for my fourteenth birthday party, it's as though Kira doesn't even live here. She just stays in my room, never coming down to even get a snack. Cyrus, Andi and I stand around the counter enjoying the baked goods together without interruption. 

"These are so good," Andi says. "She definitely needs to make these for your party."

"Agreed," Cyrus says. "But there also has to be a cake, so how about double chocolate?"

"Is that your favorite cake?" I ask. 

"It's also objectively the best cake," he insists. 

I laugh and reply, "Maybe, although I like strawberry shortcake."

"That's good too," he says before chomping down on his cinnamon roll again.

"So what's it like living with Kira?" Andi asks me. 

"Oh, right," Cyrus says after swallowing. "I forgot that she lived here. Is she out right now?"

"Nope. She's up in my room," I explain. "She just doesn't talk to me, I guess."

"That's good," Andi says. "Nice not having to deal with her constantly."

"Yeah," I mutter, "but she's not all terrible. I don't know. I learned a lot about her, like her grandma is from South Africa, and her family is Catholic, and she'd never washed a blender before. And she was actually kind of...nice for about half an hour one day."

"Kira being nice?" Andi says in surprise. "I didn't realize that was possible."

"Even I find that hard to believe," Cyrus says. 

I break off another piece of my pastry and pop it in my mouth. Even Cyrus doesn't think Kira could be nice. Maybe it was just a fluke, what happened before, and it won't happen again. 

After a bit more conversing and eating, Andi eventually says, "I have to go home now. It's family yoga night."

"Family yoga?" I respond. 

"My parents say it will help us centre our energies together."

"Better than what my family does," Cyrus says. "Nobody makes it through family psychoanalysis night without crying."

Andi chuckles at that as she heads over to the door to put her shoes on.

"I guess I'll go too," Cyrus says. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"Yeah," I say. "See you."

The two of them wave as they exit through the door. After locking it behind them, I look around at my empty house and consider what to do now. As I stand here, I feel the quiet of the house settle over me, and I begin to wonder if Kira jumped out the window or something, because I can't hear her at all.

Curious, I ascend the stairs and see my bedroom with the door closed. I enter without knocking (it is my room after all), and Kira's eyes whip up from her laptop on my desk and over to me. I gently let the door close behind me as I give the girl a weak smile, trying to ease her startled expression. 

"Hey," I say.

I'm not sure why I'm even trying at this point. I know she's not going to talk to me, but I guess I was just hoping maybe she would stop being so cold for one second. 

"Hey," she mumbles before returning her focus to her computer screen. 

I saunter over to my bed to plop down on there, at the other side of the air mattress from where Kira is. While she continues clicking around the internet, I catch sight of an article about the Stonewall Riots. I didn't strike her as someone who cared about LGBTQ+ history, so this surprises me.

"What are you working on?" I question.

"Nothing," she says. Then she sighs and spins her chair to face me. "Just this stupid history assignment."

"What's it about?"

"Everyone in the class has to write and present about the history of a protest."

"That's kinda cool," I respond. "Protest history is really interesting."

"Okay, but not my protest," she scoffs. "I got stuck with LGBT-whatever history."

I know a decent amount about LGBTQ+ history, mostly from Cyrus telling me about it, so the fact that she doesn't find it interesting is odd. There's so much to it. It's definitely up there in some of the most captivating protest movements. 

"I wanted to do the Civil Rights Movement," Kira goes on. "Something that actually mattered."

That comment ignites the anger inside me, and I get ready for another battle that I'm not going to lose. How could she think the LGBTQ+ movement wasn't important? She really is more homophobic than I thought. 

"You think the movement that gave LGBTQ+ people the right to be respected and treated like people didn't matter?" I question, my disagreement clear on my face. 

"Well, it's disgusting," she says. "I don't want to write about a bunch of freaks who got the right to be freaks."

It takes everything in me not to cross the air mattress on the floor and punch her. 

"Is that why you made TJ feel like it wasn't okay for him to be gay?" I spit. "What do you have against gay people?"

"It's wrong and unnatural, and—" her eyes skip around from place to place like they're chasing a fly "—it goes against what God intended."

"That's bullshit," I retort. "You don't know what God intended, and you sure as hell don't get to have a say in what other people do with their lives. Plus, lots of the homophobic stuff in the Bible resulted from years of mistranslation. And like anything, that book was subject to the views of its writers at the time, and at the time, there were a lot of social norms that don't work today. God intended for everyone to love one another, and hating LGBTQ+ people definitely goes against that."

"I just don't get why they can't just be normal," Kira argues. "Like, why can't they just not be like that?"

This time, I stand up, but I'm able to retain enough self-control to not go over and kill her, as I shout, "Kira, they're born that way!"

"But they should just keep it to themselves!" she fights, rising onto her feet to match my height. "I mean, yeah, it's hard, but sometimes you just have to do things you don't want to do. Just—they just don't have to say it out loud. And why should they be able to be happy if I can't? I just think this whole LGBTQ+ history shit is stupid."

She finishes her rant, face red from fury, but I'm still stuck on something she said. _Why should they be able to be happy if she can't?_ What is that supposed to mean? Wait. Is she—? No. But that would actually explain a lot. I just never even thought about the possibility before now. 

"Kira," I say, my voice going so quiet that it's kind of eerie, "are you gay?"

That triggers an explosion I didn't see coming. Instantly, she starts shouting again, but now even louder than before.

"Me? Gay? What the fuck! Why would you even say that! That's so—that's so gross and weird and—and why would you think that! I would never be gay! It's against everything I believe in! My parents would never accept it, and they don't have to, because I'm not gay! I'm not! I'm not gay!"

"Okay," I respond, taken aback by her outburst.

"You don't believe me?" she says. Now I can see the tears starting to build up in her eyes. 

"No, I—"

"I'm not gay!" she shouts again. "I'm not gay! I'm not!"

I don't even say anything now. I feel like I'm watching an avalanche occur from far away. I see every piece break off and crumble, rolling with too much momentum to stop, and I don't know what I could do to help. Anything I could do just doesn't seem right at the moment. She's falling apart before my eyes, and I'm just watching. 

"I'm not gay," she says, now sobbing. 

Suddenly, her knees give out beneath her, and she drops to the floor with a thud. Her hands cover her face, but they don't stop the sound of her crying, nor do they keep her tears from leaking out and soaking her sleeves. 

"I'm not gay," she croaks once more behind her hands.

I don't think I can solve anything, but maybe I could at least help comfort her, so I go over and kneel down beside her, wrapping my arms around the broken girl in a hug. She doesn't even react to it. She just keeps crying. My hand brushes over her soft hair, doing its best to soothe something inside her, but I don't think anything I do will really make a difference. I hope she at least appreciates not being alone. I know that if I were her right now, I would want someone to be with me to let me know that it's okay—that I'm okay. 

After a moment, her frail voice tries to speak again, saying, "I'm..."

I run my hand through her hair, brushing it out of her face and behind her shoulder. 

"I know," I whisper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY! I hope you are all starting to get really into this story. I know I am, but now I'm going to work on updating my other stories before getting back to this one. I'm so so so excited for what lies ahead for this. Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you again soon!


	6. Chapter 6

When Cyrus came out to me, he cried, but only a few tears, and then it was okay. I took his hand, and I told him that he's no different, and I accepted him, and that was enough to make him smile. Comparing that with the echo of this avalanche now is overwhelming. Kira's hands come down from her face to hold my wrists and I hug her on the floor. Her sobs slowly disappear, like she must be running low on energy. 

Even when she's finished, I keep my arms around her for a moment longer, wanting to make sure I catch the last of her feelings rather than leaving them for her to deal with on her own. Eventually, she lets me go and pushes herself to sit up straighter, signalling to me that it's time to get out of the way. Reluctantly, I remove my hold on her and change my position from kneeling to sitting on the floor. 

Kira takes in a few long breaths before asking, "Buffy, what do I do?"

"Well, first thing's first," I respond. "There is nothing wrong with you."

She lets out a sigh. "You know, I hear that, but I just… Everything I've ever been told is about how I shouldn't be this way, that this is all in my head or a phase that I'll get over."

"Do you think it's a phase?" I ask. 

She pauses for a moment before shaking her head. 

"Okay, so we know that was false," I conclude. "Kira, contrary to what you've been told, it's completely okay to be gay. That doesn't make you any less valid of a person, and anyone who doesn't accept you for who you are doesn't deserve you."

Kira fidgets with the sleeves of her shirt, stretching them over her hands and twisting them around, while I talk to her. The strangest part of all this isn't that she's gay, or even that she has emotions. It's that I'm talking to her the way I would talk to any of my friends if they were in this situation. For some reason, I actually kind of care about her. 

"I hear you," she says, "and I want to believe you, but I—I don't know how."

"Lucky for you, you aren't alone in feeling the way you do," I state. "There are lots of things out there to help you learn how."

She gives me a faint smile, and a minute later, she starts to stand up, so I do the same. 

"Thanks," she says once she's on her feet. 

It looks like she's about to add something more, but she recoils and just smiles again. 

"You're welcome," I reply. 

"I think I'm gonna go take a shower now," she says, "try to wash the tears out of my hair."

She lets out a tiny laugh, and I nod, saying, "Good idea."

She turns around and makes her way out of my room. Once she's gone, I pull open the draw of my desk and take out a sticky note and a blue pen. On it, I write two things: '[www.equallyblessed.org](https://www.equallyblessed.org/)' and '[www.thetrevorproject.org](https://www.thetrevorproject.org/)'. I press the note onto the frame around the keyboard of her laptop then fold the device closed. 

________________________________________

The next morning is significantly less awkward than previous days. Kira takes forever in the washroom, as usual, which makes her run out of time to eat breakfast, so after I finish scarfing down my own mini wheats, I fill up a bowl for her. My mom watches me as I do that.

"You extra hungry today?" she questions. 

"It's for Kira," I explain. 

A pleased smile spreads on her face. "Nice to see that you two are becoming friends."

"It's just cereal," I say. "She has to eat."

My mom just grins and looks back down at her magazine. 

I carry the bowl up the stairs, and as soon as I get to the top, I see Kira passing by in the hallway. Her hair is loose and curly like a cloud that bounces as she walks. She doesn't wear her hair down often, but it looks really good. When she sees me, she smiles. 

"I figured you'd be late and need some food," I say, handing her the bowl. 

"Thank you," she responds, taking it without stopping. 

She hurries into my room and over to the mirror over my dresser. There, she sets down the bowl of cereal and puts a spoonful in her mouth before reaching for her eyeliner and drawing that above her eyelashes. I watch her for a minute, admiring the way she so precisely applies her makeup. She's already dressed, in high-waisted jeans and a dusty rose-colored, cropped tank top. 

"You sure you won't be cold in that?" I question. 

"Who are you? My mom?" she responds. 

"I'm just concerned, because it is only March, and I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be that warm today."

"I'll be fine," she insists. 

As she finishes applying a few streaks of lip gloss, she notices something that captures her interest. She reaches for one of the necklaces that hang from a stand of hooks on my dresser. Her thumb brushes over the tiny, silver moon pendant on the chain. 

"This is pretty," she says. 

"Yeah, um, I got that from my grandmother when I turned thirteen," I explain. "It was my gift for becoming a teenager."

"That's really nice," she responds, her eyes still staring at the piece of jewelry. "I used to have a necklace that my grandma gave me that I would wear everyday. It was one she owned for a long time."

"Did it have a story to go with it?" I wonder. 

She glances back and me and nods. "Yeah, she, uh… She got it as a gift. She lived in South Africa during the Apartheid, and she said how there was one woman, a white woman, who was kind, and they were friends. She gave my grandma a necklace of a dove to symbolize peace. My grandma gave it to me for my first communion, telling me that I should be like that woman. I should be kind and believe in what's right, even when those around me don't agree." Kira's smile fades a bit. "Sometimes I feel like, if she knew what I did, she'd be disappointed in me."

I want to say something, but I don't know what, so I just wait for her to get past the blue moment and move on, which she does soon enough. 

"Anyway," she says with a breath, "your necklace is really pretty."

She lets it go and picks up the bowl of cereal to finish it up. 

"Do you still have that necklace?" I ask her. "The one from your grandma."

She shakes her head. "No. It was destroyed when my house was wrecked."

A sadness hits me. She lost so many important things when her house was demolished, and yes, they are just material things, but material things can mean a lot when they have memories tied to them. She's had so many memories ripped right out of her hands. I can't imagine how hard that must be. 

"You can wear mine if you want," I offer. 

Her eyes light up. "Really?"

"Yeah. It would go well with your outfit."

With a smile, she says, "Thanks."

Kira puts down her breakfast and lifts the necklace off its hook then undoes the clasp. I watch for a second as she struggles to get her hair out of the way so that she can close the chain around her neck. After a few attempts that just result in her hair getting locked into the metal, I go over to help. 

"Let me," I say. 

She smiles softly and lets me take the two ends of the chain from her fingers. My hands shake a little as I try to hook the chain ring through the clasp, causing me to miss once before I get it on the second try. Kira lets her hair go as I lower my hands, and then she spins around to me. 

"How does it look?" she asks. 

My eyes fall down to the place where the pendant rests on her chest, but right away, I feel a little weird, and I pull my sight back up. 

"Really good," I reply. 

She gives me another smile before winding around me to finish gathering her books and laptop into her backpack. After standing for another moment, I snap out of my daze and go get my stuff packed for school. Soon, we're both out on the sidewalk, walking side by side rather than one after the other, and it feels nice to not have anger simmering under my skin. 

The sky is overcast today, so every shadow is just a faint blur on the ground. Cars pass by as we stroll together, but their motors don't overpower Kira's voice as she begins to talk.

"I like grey skies."

"Okay, that's officially the weirdest thing I've ever heard you say," I respond. 

She chuckles a little and continues, "Like right before a thunderstorm, when the sky is really dark, but it's warm, and there's no rain yet, but you can hear the thunder in the distance. I love that."

"Why?" I question. 

She shrugs. "It feels comforting, like a blanket wrapping me up and keeping me safe, like nothing can touch me."

"That's…really nice," I respond after a second. "I just like blue skies because sun."

"Sun is good too," she agrees, "although sometimes it gets in the way when I'm trying to make a basket and can't see."

"So you'd rather it be cloudy all the time?" 

"No. If it's cloudy all the time then there's nothing special about it being cloudy. I just appreciate it when it is cloudy."

"That makes sense," I say. 

As we step onto the grass in front of Jefferson, she starts drifting to the left. After a second, she turns back to give me a wave. 

"I'll see you later," she says. 

"See you."

She looks ahead and walks away toward the doors to the school. Meanwhile, I find my friends sitting at a picnic table to the right and go over to join them. Right away, I'm thrown four confounded looks.

"Why do you and Kira look like best friends all of a sudden?" TJ questions. 

"I don't know," I reply. "I guess…things just…changed."

I'm not going to tell them about what happened last night, even though I'm sure they would have a bit more sympathy if they knew. It's not my story to tell. She can come out when she's ready. I won't make the decision for her. I just wish I had something more to explain to my friends that would help convince them that I'm not losing my mind. 

"What do you mean things changed?" Andi says. "Did her internship with Satan finally end?"

"She's really not that bad," I insist. 

"Buffy," TJ says, "she went to extra lengths to make you mad and keep me and Cyrus apart, and I admit that some of that was my fault for not being confident enough in myself—"

"You weren't ready," Cyrus chimes in. "You didn't do anything wrong."

TJ gives his boyfriend a soft look before continuing, "She just wants other people to feel bad so that she can feel good."

"You guys don't know everything about her," I argue. "If you did, you would feel differently."

"Even if that's true," TJ replies, "she at least owes us an apology."

"Yeah," I agree. "She does. You're right about that."

All of a sudden, my phone dings, and I take it out to see a text on my screen. 

**Kira:** I forgot to say earlier, but thanks for the sticky note.

 **Me:** Anytime. 

"Who's texting you that's making you smile like that?" Andi asks as I press the send button. 

I didn't realize I was smiling.

"Just…a friend," I answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm excited to write more. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be great. I'm pumped. Honestly, I'm so into this story, that I think I'm just gonna keep writing it. Love you all! Goodbye!


	7. Chapter 7

Every once in a while, I forget that I used to hate Kira. Now that we're talking, it's actually really nice having her around. Basketball is certainly much better with someone to play it with, and Kira is a worthy opponent. She dribbles the ball by me, blocking my swipes with her arm. When she gets close enough to the net, she takes her shot, tossing it over my jump, and it swirls through the hoop.

The ball's thud echoes off the atmosphere as it bounces off the driveway and into my hands. I immediately dribble it around to the other side of the driveway to check the ball before bringing it back in, but when I leap, Kira blocks my shot, snatching the ball clean out of the air. 

"Come on, Slayer," she taunts. "You can do better than that."

Her grin is a kind of playful smug that only fuels my competitive drive. When she comes around next, putting herself between me and the ball, I manage to reach around and knock the ball out of her hands, but unfortunately, it falls past mine, bouncing down the street. 

Rather than make fun of me, Kira just crosses her arms and says, "There's the fire you were missing."

"Apparently, the fire isn't good at keeping the ball from rolling away," I comment.

"Hey, fire does what it wants," Kira replies with a grin. "It's uncontrollable."

She starts walking down the driveway in the direction of the ball, and I hurry to catch up beside her. I can see the ball stuck beneath a car at the corner, but nobody's in the vehicle, so there's no need to rush.

"So your birthday is coming up, right?" Kira says. 

"It is," I confirm. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to know what I should get you?"

"Um...I can't really think of anything."

Coming up with things I want for my birthday is always a challenge for me. Most of the things I want are either too specific or too expensive that I'd never even get it for myself. And in Kira's case, I'm even less motivated to come up with an answer, because she just lost her house. She really doesn't need to spend money on getting me a gift.

"I have an idea," Kira says eagerly.

"Okay," I say, laughing a little at her enthusiasm. "What is it?"

"How about for your birthday"—she stops walking and turns to face me—"we can play basketball, and I'll let you win for a change."

"Let me win?" I scoff, failing to hide my grin. "Are birthday gifts supposed to be something that I don't get everyday?"

I bite my lip as I smile and step on ahead, looking back at her as I move. She basks in her defeat for a second before running up after me. 

"That's very presumptuous of you," she says, "considering we haven't even finished this game yet."

"No, but I know I'm gonna win."

"This from the girl who hit the ball into the street."

I shake my head, chuckling along with her. 

"When's your birthday?" I ask. 

"Um..." Kira keeps strolling next to me, but she hesitates to answer. "February fourteenth."

"You were born on Valentine's Day?"

"Yes, and I hate it," she groans. "Do you know how annoying it is to see a bunch of happy couples around when I'm just trying to celebrate my birth? My friends almost always forget, because they're so busy with their Valentine's plans. This year, I spent my birthday eating ice cream and watching Netflix in my basement."

Gotta be honest, I'm kind of surprised that she has friends. I definitely thought I was the only person who liked her at all. 

"You've never talked about your friends before," I say as a polite alternative to my real thoughts. 

"Yeah, um... They're not good friends like yours. I was part of this group at my old school, but since I moved, they kind of stopped talking to me as much. With moving to Jefferson in the last year before leaving again, making new friends just seemed...pointless."

"Yeah," I say, voice falling to match her dreary tone. "That must've been rough."

"It's not like they ever cared about me that much anyway," Kira goes on. "To be honest, you're a better friend to me than they were."

I get multiple feelings from that. First, I'm surprised that she considers me her friend. Then I'm in baffled by how we went from enemies to friends so fast. Next, I'm happy that she thinks of me as her friend. Finally, I'm confused as to why it doesn't feel like enough. 

We get up to the red car, under which the basketball is wedged, and Kira and I both crouch down to examine the situation. It's stuck in the centre of the car, so one of us will have to get under that to reach it. 

"You know why you're a good friend?" she says. 

"Why?" I ask, wondering where this is going. 

"Because you'll be the one to crawl under here and get the basketball." She looks to me with a grin. "My other friends wouldn't have done that."

"I can't believe you," I say, shaking my head at her. 

Even after saying that, I still do as she wants. I feel the dirt collecting on my clothes as I shimmy on my stomach underneath the car. Once I grab the ball, it takes me some extra effort to back up, but I make it back into the sunlight, and then I lift my head up to see Kira standing with her arm out. I take her hand, and she pulls me up onto my feet. After letting go, she steps back and gives my filthy clothes a once-over with her eyes. 

"Girl, you're a mess," she says. 

I roll my eyes. "Is this how you treat all your friends?"

"A cute mess," she corrects. 

I feel myself blush at the compliment, and I instantly get really uncomfortable, so I try to get the attention onto something else, saying, "A cute mess that you're gonna lose to."

I start around her toward my house, but Kira's hand grabs my arm and steers me back to see her looking at something in the distance. One house along the street has tables set up on its driveway, all filled with random items. Several people browse around, picking up things then putting them back down, sometimes holding on to them. 

"There's a garage sale," Kira says. 

"I don't have any money on me," I respond. 

"Neither do I. I just like looking."

She launches off toward the event, and I follow after her. She slows down abruptly at the first table, and I nearly trip as I fight inertia and halt beside her. I trail along with her as she examines all the items from clothes to kitchenware to books. I get the feeling that she's probably the kind of person who touches paintings at museums, because she runs her hand over everything that catches her eye. She stops moving when she sees a stack of teen magazines from the early 2000s. 

"How about some 2000s' teen drama?" she says as she picks up the top one. 

I look at the image on the cover and respond, "NSYNC? Low-rise jeans: a rising trend? These seem super out-dated."

"That's what makes them great," Kira says. 

While Kira flips through the rest of the pile, the woman who I assume is running this sale comes up behind us.

"Are you interested in getting those?" she asks. 

"Oh, I don't have any money," Kira answers. "But they are really cool."

The lady reaches in front of Kira and lifts the whole stack of about 15 or so magazines. Kira's eyes practically sparkle in wonder as the woman drops the stack in her arms. 

"Take 'em," the lady says. "I just want to want to get rid of 'em, and I'd rather they go to someone who wants 'em than in the recycling."

"Thank you so much," Kira responds.

"My pleasure."

The woman heads off to help someone else, and Kira looks at me, mouth open in excitement. 

"You know what we're doing for the next week," she says. 

"Oh, God," I mutter. 

"I believe it's time for a sleepover."

"We live together. It's a sleepover every night."

"No, it's sleeping every night. In order for it to be a sleepover, we need to braid hair and paint nails"—she tilts the magazines for me to see better—"and quiz each other on which Cheetah Girl would be our totes perf BFF."

I'm cringing at her use of that slang. "That sounds..."

"Fun, I know," she finishes for me. 

She starts walking back toward my house, her grin stuck permanently to her face. I knew she was pretty, but somehow, she's even prettier when she smiles like this. I wish she would do it more often.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I have one more chapter coming soon, so yeah.


	8. Chapter 8

Andi and I have sleepovers, but they mostly consist of us doing crafts, or having having late-night dance parties, or watching comedy movies targeted for middle-aged men. They are fun and light-hearted and not near as stereotypical as this right now. 

Kira and I both sit on the floor together in our pyjamas. We've begun the part of the night where we're supposed to do each other's makeup, and Kira is currently trying to talk me through how to do a 'sexy smoky eye' on her by reading the instructions from the magazine aloud. 

"Okay, start with, like, a silver colour, and put that in the middle."

I hold the eyeshadow palette in my lap while I lean forward to brush the pigment onto Kira's right eyelid. It would probably be turning out a lot better if my hand weren't shaking so much. I really don't know why I can't keep still. I'm completely fine whenever I'm looking down to dab more colour onto the makeup brush, but then I look back up at Kira and my whole body seems to think I'm about to ride a motorcycle or something. 

When I finish with the one colour, Kira guides me through the rest, and at the end, I sit back to get a glimpse at the whole look. 

"How does it look?" Kira asks, giggling as she flips her hair like a model for a really bad makeup company. 

"Not gonna lie," I reply. "It definitely looks like you have two black eyes."

She laughs and takes sets the magazine aside before taking the makeup tools from me. 

"Your turn," she says. 

Now I'm really questioning my sanity, because when her hand raises and gets close to me, I feel my heart rate speed up. While she brushes my eyes with the eyeshadow, I keep my hands on the floor beside me to steady myself, but I still feel a little disoriented, so I talk to try to get my mind off that. 

"What exactly makes a smoky eye sexy?" I question with a laugh. 

"I don't know," she says. "You're about to have a smoky eye, and your eyes are pretty thick."

"I don't know how to feel about that," I respond as I laugh.

"Hey, hey, hold still," she says. "You're gonna end up with a smoky forehead if you keep moving."

When she's done with the eyeshadow, I open my eyes, and she studies me for a moment.

"A couple more things," she says. 

Then she picks up her own liquid liner and outlines my eyes. After applying mascara, she twists the brush back inside the tube, and my eyes flutter open again to see my reflection in the hand mirror that we stole from my mom's bathroom. 

"I'm getting major Avril Lavigne vibes from this," I say. 

Kira puts down the mirror, saying, "I'll take that as a compliment."

We both laugh for a few seconds before settling down into a comfortable quiet where neither of us are saying anything. Instead, we just keep our eyes on each other. It doesn't take long before I feel my pulse getting too fast for my liking, and I break the silence. 

"Um, thanks for this. The sleepover. It was fun."

"Well, we're not done yet," she says. "There are still many magazine quizzes for us to take."

"Awesome," I say with a chuckle. "I'm just gonna wipe this makeup off my face first so that I can lie in bed without dirtying my pillow."

I head off to the bathroom to clean up, and when I return, Kira is lying on her air mattress, skimming through one of the magazines. I trade the big light for the dim lamp at my beside then jump onto my quilt, sitting cross-legged there and gazing down at the girl on the floor. 

"Okay," she says. "Would you rather find out who your NSYNC soulmate is, or whether you should make up or break up with your boyfriend?"

"Those are both so...heteronormative," I respond with a laugh. 

"Well, this is from 2000."

She flips a few pages until she finds something she likes better. 

"How about this," she says. "30 questions to ask your BFF that will reveal all their darkest secrets."

"Hmm. I'm not sure if I want all my darkest secrets revealed."

"Well, I'm gonna ask them anyway."

I let out a laugh while Kira adjusts herself to face me more, and I lie down on my bed, keeping her in my view.

"Number one. Have you ever put your crush's number on speed-dial?" she asks. 

"Um, I've put him in my contacts," I reply. "I don't know if that counts as being speed-dial or not."

"Yeah, I think that's referring to your home phone," Kira says. "May not be the most relevant. How about this one? What was your first kiss like?"

"I've actually never had my first kiss," I confess. 

"Really? Have you had a boyfriend before?"

"Yeah, but then he painted shoes for me, and I broke up with him."

"Isn't that, like, super sweet, though?"

"He also painted shoes for Andi when they were thinging," I explain. 

"Oh, gross."

"Tell me about it."

"First kisses are overrated anyway," she tells me. "Mine was awful. It was at a party with my friends. We were playing spin the bottle, and I had to kiss this guy in my math class. I remember wanting it to be over before it even started."

"One day you'll get a better kiss," I say. "And you'll actually like the person you're kissing."

"Is it weird that that kind of scares me?" 

"What do you mean?"

"Like, when I actually find a girl I want to kiss who wants to kiss me, what if I mess it up? What if I start thinking all those negative things about myself again and go back to hating myself?"

"If you do, then there will be another chance," I assure her. "You're way too great of a girl to be single forever."

"Thanks," she replies. "You too."

I smile at that, and she moves on to the next question.

"What is something that you still haven't apologized for that you really should?" Her voice falls quiet at the end. 

I know what she must be thinking about. At least, I hope I know. It's the thing TJ had requested an apology for that I had somehow forgotten to bring up. 

After a moment of dead air, I ask her, "Was it just because you had internalized homophobia?"

Rather than give me a yes or no answer, she answers the question indirectly by falling into a story. "I was starting to feel things. I was starting to like this girl, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to just get rid of the feelings, and then I saw Cyrus and TJ, and they were so happy. And they actually liked themselves. And I didn't understand why they should be happy when I couldn't."

I was mostly right in what I'd assumed, although I didn't know about the girl. I wonder who it was. Maybe I knew her. 

"Did you ever tell the girl how you felt?" I ask. 

"No," Kira replies. "I'm certain that she didn't like me anyway. Plus, I was terrified of how I felt. I couldn't even say out loud what I was."

"Can you say it now?"

I watch her lick her lips a little before pursing them. After a moment of just staring up at the ceiling, she finally speaks. 

"I'm gay. I'm a lesbian."

I see a smile break its way onto her face, and she ends up falling into laughter.

"Fuck yeah, you are," I say. 

That makes her smile even more as her eyes drop in my direction. The instant they connect with mine, I feel myself lose track of what's currently happening. All I know is that she's looking at me. 

When she speaks again, my trance is broken, and the memory of the present floods back to me. 

"I want to apologize to them, but I doubt they'd even forgive me," she says. "I don't blame them. What I did was...pretty shitty."

"I think they'd forgive you," I tell her. "Cyrus has a very big heart, and TJ… Well, Cyrus holds his heart, so I think he'll forgive you too."

She nods slowly before saying, "Okay. I'm gonna do it. But will you be there with me?"

"Of course." 

I was planning to be there anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more coming up soon!


	9. Chapter 9

I texted TJ and Cyrus before we left the house this morning, telling them to meet me at Cyrus's locker before school. Kira was worried about if they might be with others, like Andi or Jonah, so I said I would try to get them alone. But she's still scared nonetheless.

She's fidgeting with the sleeves of her grey bomber jacket, something I've noticed she does when she's stressed, as we walk into the school. I can hear her breathing from where I am beside her, and it makes me feel worried on her behalf. Pretty soon, she starts bringing up the various scenarios of how this could play out.

"What if they don't accept my apology?"

"Kira—"

"What if they think I'm lying or just saying what I have to?"

"I'm sure—"

"What if—"

"Kira!" I say, grabbing her shoulders and turning her toward me. Now touching her, I feel more certain of my words than before. "It will be fine."

The girl takes in a deep breath and says, "Okay."

She continues forward with me sticking close to her side. Cyrus and TJ come into view when we round the corner, and I see Kira freeze for a second before carrying on. The two boys look over to us as we approach.

"What is Kira doing here?" TJ questions.

I glance to Kira, whose worried eyes look to mine for encouragement, so I give her a nod.

"I'm here to apologize," Kira says.

Both Cyrus's eyebrows and TJ's go up in shock. Clearly, neither of them actually thought this day would come. But while they're dumbfounded by the occurrence, I'm smiling at Kira's courage. It takes a lot to admit you're wrong. I'm impressed that she has that strength. Of course, I knew she did.

"I was awful to you guys," Kira goes on. "And I realize that what I did was kind of unforgivable, but I'm hoping you could forgive me anyway."

Cyrus and TJ both share a glance, and then finally Cyrus answers for the both of them.

"Thank you for apologizing," he says. "We forgive you."

Kira's fear fades into a smile. "Thank you. I—" She lets out a breath. "Thank you."

She then turns to me, her eyes glowing from the victory of this moment. The way she looks at me makes that motorcycle thing start again, and I end up twirling my hair under the nerves, even though I don't know why I'm nervous. She already apologized. There's nothing else to be nervous about.

"I'll see you after school," she says to me.

"Definitely," I confirm.

She holds her smile for another minute before stepping away down the hall. My eyes follow her until she disappears behind the other kids in the hall. When I look back to my friends, Cyrus's mouth is open in shock from something I don't understand. Maybe he's still surprised by the apology?

But TJ doesn't look surprised anymore. He just adjusts his backpack and says, "I'm gonna go get my books for class. See you guys at lunch," before walking off.

Now it's just me and the gawking Cyrus, and I'm starting to feel awkward with him staring at me like this.

"What is it?" I ask.

"Your tell," he says. "You have a crush on Kira."

"What?" I say, completely taken aback by the idea. "No, I don't. That's crazy. She's...Kira. And I'm straight, and even if I were bi or something, I wouldn't like Kira of all people."

Me and Kira? No. She's nice, and we're friends. But we're just friends. I definitely do not like her as more than friends.

"Then why were you twirling your hair?" he questions.

"I don't know. I have a test today that I'm pretty nervous about."

That makes Cyrus pout. "So your tell isn't a tell after all. It's just something you do when you're nervous. Unless you have a crush on your math test."

"I can assure you that I do not," I reply.

"Okay," he mutters. "But if you did like someone, you'd tell me, right?"

"Yeah," I say, "of course."

________________________________________

"What about these?" Kira asks as she picks up a pack of party blowers from the basket on the shelf.

We're currently at local store called Party Central in search of decorations and other supplies for my birthday, which is in three days. I told Kira she didn't have to come if she didn't want to, but she insisted on joining me for the walk here to keep me company. It seems like she also wanted to have a say in what I got, because so far, I've agreed to get six rolls of streamers, even though I didn't want them to begin with. But she put up a good arguement. I don't recall what it was exactly, but I know I was convinced when she looked at me.

"Aren't party blowers more of a New Year's thing?" I say.

She shrugs. "Suit yourself."

The package returns back into the basket from which it came, and we carry on a bit farther down the isle, only to step again when she sees something else she likes.

"How about these?"

"Why would a bunch of thirteen and fourteen year-olds need plastic shot glasses?" I question.

"For truth or drink with ginger ale," she suggests.

"Ginger ale?" I say. "Who likes ginger ale?"

"You don't?"

"Not particularly," I respond. "The only time I drink it is when I'm sick, because I heard from somewhere that it helps for that."

She furrows her brows. "I was told that leaving an open onion in your room gets rid of colds, but I'm pretty sure that cold stayed longer than it should've."

"Weird," I say.

"Totally."

She drops the shot glasses into the basket I'm carrying, even though she never actually received my permission, and her presumptuousness makes me laugh a little to myself.

"What about a piñata?" she says.

"But then we have to buy candy, and I don't have the money for that."

"You don't have to fill it with candy."

"What else would I fill it with?"

She pauses to think of an answer before saying, "Rocks?"

"Sounds dangerous."

"Okay, no piñata."

"I think we've got enough stuff anyway," I say. "Let's go pay."

She follows me up to the front where I pay for the giant order of party supplies. While the man working the till packs my items into the fabric bag that I brought, I notice Kira gazing up at the wall of balloons. It's filled with all types, from basic round ones to baby shower ones.

"We should get a balloon," she says.

"It will lose air by Friday," I tell her.

"Not for Friday. Just for now."

The man glances between Kira and me, eventually asking, "You want a balloon?"

I wasn't planning on getting one, but the look in Kira's eyes tells me I should change my mind, so I do.

"Yes," I reply.

"Which one?" the man asks.

I look to Kira. She ponders over the question for a moment before pointing up at one in the shape of a rainbow with two clouds.

"That one," she says.

After I pay for that too, the cashier goes over to get one of the rainbow balloons and then brings it over to a pump that inflates it with helium. He brings the ribbon over to me, and I take it, grabbing on tight. Kira smiles the whole time as we exit the store and enter the parking lot.

I keep my eyes on the balloon as it waves in the wind. It is a nice balloon, and I don't regret buying it, especially with how happy Kira looks, but I am worried that it might blow away.

"Holding on to helium balloons always makes me nervous," I say.

"Why?" she asks.

"Because I could accidentally let go at any moment."

"Well, if you're so worried, then I can hold it."

I take her up on the offer, passing the ribbon over to her, but when I let go, her fingers haven't quite gripped the ribbon yet, and the balloon goes rising up into the sky. Our eyes float up along with it, following the rainbow spot as it fades out of sight.

"Well, fuck," Kira says.

After another second of staring, she says, "I can get it," and rushes over to the big, yellow bollard post and hoists herself up to sit atop it. "Can you give me a hand?" she asks, looking back at me.

"Kira, it's way too high for you to reach."

"Never know unless you try," she says with a grin.

I don't understand what she could possibly be thinking, but I follow her request anyway. After setting the shopping bag down, Kira takes my hand, and I feel chills roll through me when we touch. Thinking rationally, I conclude that that must just be my worry for her as she stands up on the thin post and reaches up. As soon as her hand goes up, it falls again, and she looks down at me.

"Yeah, it's too high," she says with a laugh like she knew that from the start, which obviously she must've, so I don't know why she even tried this to begin with. "Help me down?" she asks.

I nod, and she moves her hands onto my shoulders while I bring mine to her waist. When she leaps, it looks like something out of a fairytale, and for a moment, I'm tempted to spin her around as though she's a princess, but I don't react in time, and she lands on the asphalt like a normal person would, except that she's not a normal person. She's a girl whom I can't get myself to let go of, and she doesn't let go of me either. We just stare at each other in the middle of this parking lot for no reason other than because I like looking at her.

And then the motorcycle thing kicks in again, and my breathing quickens, and my pulse races. But before, the motorcycle was only preparing to go. It never actually went anywhere. This time is different. This time, I feel myself move closer to her, and my eyes move down to her lips, following the directions of something a lot stronger than me.

And then I realize what I'm about to do, and I pull away. Was I really about to kiss Kira? But it's Kira? She's just my friend. My friend with pretty eyes and a beautiful smile and a sense of humour that never fails to make me laugh and... I have a crush on Kira.

Officially freaked out by myself, I take a step backward, saying, "Um, I just remembered that I, uh, have a test tomorrow, and I really should go study for that."

I pick up the shopping bag before whipping around and taking off in a speed walk.

"Well, I'll walk with you!" I hear Kira shout after me.

"It's okay," I reply, glancing back only for a second. "I can walk on my own."

"Buffy, we live in the same house! We're going the same way!"

I just keep walking, not stopping to let her catch up to me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm done my triple update! I hope you all liked it. I'm likely going to be updating Not Strangers tomorrow to get that one done a bit more. I love you all! Goodnight.


	10. Chapter 10

I can't even look at her anymore. The weirdest part of all this is that I used to not be able to look at her before too, but that was because I would get angry if I saw her face. Now I can't look at her, because I'm afraid I'll do something I'll regret. Yeah, she's nice, and we're friends, which is okay, because Cyrus and TJ forgave her. But they forgave her thinking that she was just my friend. I forgave her thinking she'd only ever be my friend. Why does the first girl I like have to be the girl who messed with my best friends lives, and mine too? And what if she is right about herself? What if I let myself like her and end up getting crushed because she can't handle liking a girl? 

All of that is reliant on the idea that she would like me back anyway, and that's probably as close to impossible as it gets. She treated me like garbage for so long. That's not exactly something people do to people they want to talk to. She never wanted to talk to me. She never liked me then. Why would she ever like me now? She also lives in my house. If I told her I liked her, and she didn't like me, then it would be so uncomfortable that I wouldn't even know what to do. The best thing I can do for both of us is to just stay away from her. 

So that's what I do. I do that for the rest of the night. The minute I get home, I go to my room and pick up the book I'm writing my report on, hoping to drown my thoughts away in that. It works pretty well, until Kira opens the door and steps inside. 

The expression on her face is pure and absolute discombobulation as she looks at me. "Um…sorry, but what the fuck?" 

I take in a long breath to prepare myself to face her before slowly lowering my book. My heart is beating like wild still, but this time it isn't because of my crush. It's because I'm genuinely worried. The problem is, I don't know if I'm worried about what I'm going to do or about what she's going to do.

"Sorry," I say, trying to remember what my excuse was earlier. "Very important test."

"Yeah," she scoffs. "Must be for you to ditch me like that."

"Yeah, um, so, you should probably go," I continue, "so that I can study."

"Study your book?" she questions, folding her arms over her chest in skepticism. 

"That's what the test is on, yes."

She shakes her head, and I can feel her disappointment from where I'm sitting on my bed. but I do my best to ignore it. As she's on her way out, her dad shows up in the doorway with a smile on his face.

"Great news, honey!" he announces to his daughter. "We have our court date set. It's still a long while away, but hopefully we'll be able to get this sorted out and get back the money we lost."

"We can't get back the house," Kira mutters. 

"No," Paul says, his mood dimming, "but we'll be able to get a new house, and unfortunately that's the best we can do."

I watch as he holds up his pinky finger, and Kira locks her own around it in a little pinky hug. That's sweet. It must be a thing they do. My dad and I don't have a thing like that. 

When Paul is gone again, Kira stays still for a moment, and I think that maybe I should say something, but after opening my mouth, I decide it's better not to, because then I might end up letting her in again. Unfortunately, Kira hears the breath I was about to use to speak with, and she glances back at me. But she doesn't comment, and I don't speak. After a couple seconds, she realizes that I'm not going to say anything, so she turns away and walks out of the room, leaving it a lot colder than when she came in. 

______________________________________

I'm going to be later than usual today. I already know that, and I've planned for it. I just can't walk with Kira. I cannot, because if I do, I know I'll end up talking to her and listening to her laugh, and then I'll end up feeling things that I shouldn't. I just need to get rid of these feelings as fast as possible, and avoiding her at all costs is the best solution I can think of. 

I'm currently standing in front of the mirror in my room, purposefully taking way too long to tie my hair up. With the extra time, I decide to do a french braid along the front and having it lead into a bun with the rest of my hair. While I'm in the midst of braiding, I hear a knock on the doorframe and look to see Kira stepping in and leaning against the wall. 

"Hey, I'm heading out now," she says. "You coming?"

"Um, I'm actually running kinda behind," I lie. "You leave without me."

"I can wait," she responds. 

"No need. I'm actually, um, very behind—like, half an hour—so you should really go."

She clearly doesn't believe my excuse, but she doesn't fight it. She just looks down to the floor before saying, "Fine, okay."

When she leaves, I breathe a sigh of relief and finish doing my hair much quicker now. Knowing she's gone, I finish packing my bags and grabbing my jacket, then I leave to walk to school. I haven't eaten breakfast, because Kira was downstairs when I was going to, so I'll probably just buy a granola bar from the vending machine at school or something. 

As I step onto the grass, my friends wave to me by the bike racks, and I hurry over, knowing the bell is going to ring at any moment. 

"What took you so long?" Andi questions. 

"And why aren't you walking with Kira?" Cyrus asks next. "Aren't you two, like, best friends now?"

"I woke up late," I lie. 

Cyrus looks at me in suspicion, and I know that if he asks about her again, and I answer, he'll almost certainly realize what's going on, so I have to change the subject fast. 

"So for my birthday," I say, "feel free to come over at six, and bring whatever games you have."

"Cool, I'll bring Twister," Andi says. 

"I'll bring Cards Against Humanity," TJ says. 

Cyrus looks up at his boyfriend. "TJ, that game is dirty."

"Yeah, but it's fun."

Cyrus sighs and says, "Well, I'll bring Property."

"Please don't," Jonah responds. "That game ruins friendships."

"Fine," Cyrus replies, looking hurt. "We'll just play TJ's dirty game instead."

TJ chuckles and he shakes his head. Then he puts his arm around his boyfriend and pulls him in, giving Cyrus a kiss on the head. But when he steps away, Cyrus tilts his chin up at the blonde, and TJ understands the request, giving Cyrus a kiss on the lips. 

Seeing this couple so happy in front of me only reminds me of how unhappy I am right now. I already know my birthday is going to be a struggle to get through as long as Kira's there, and I may be able to ignore her on regular days, but I can't just not invite her to my birthday. I want to kill my crush on her, not kill my friendship with her, but at this point, I'm starting to think those things might come as a pair. 

________________________________________

"So which cake did you decide on?" my mom asks.

She comes over to where I'm doing my math homework at the dining room table and takes a seat beside me. I would usually be doing this in my room, but Kira is up there right now. Luckily, my mom didn't question my change of location. She's just excited that I'm spending time with her while she's making dinner, although dinner's definitely going to take longer than usual, because apparently I'm very distracting for her. 

"I think I want strawberry shortcake," I answer. 

"Of course. I should've known."

She stands up again and heads back into the kitchen to continue mincing garlic. From there, she still talks to me, forcing me to stop focusing on my homework. 

"Paul and Crystal will be out with me and your dad tomorrow so that you and your friends can have fun without the adults being around to bug you guys. I trust you won't be throwing a crazy party like I see on TV shows."

"No crazy parties," I say. "Just some friends and some games and cake and stuff."

"Wonderful."

I turn my attention back to my math question, ready to keep working, but as I press my pencil to the page of my notebook, the lead snaps. This wouldn't be a problem if I had my pencil sharpener, but I left that upstairs, so now I'll have to go up to where Kira is in order to sharpen my pencil. 

"Hey, Mom," I call instead, "do you have a pencil sharpener?"

"Sure. There's one in the drawer by the phone."

I go over to where it is and dig through the pencils and pens in the drawer, eventually finding the tiny silver sharpener. It's the kind where I have to hold it over the garbage while sharpening, so it's a bit inconvenient, but what would be even more inconvenient would be to go upstairs and have all my feelings come smacking me in the face again. I cannot let that happen. There are just too many things that could go wrong—too many ways I could be broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I know this is big sad rn, but I have something beautiful planned, so I hope you all like that when it does come. I love you all! Have a good night.


	11. Chapter 11

Last year, my birthday was just Jonah, Andi, Cyrus and I going to the Spoon and getting a free birthday milkshake. This year, my friend group has expanded. Now that Cyrus is dating TJ, he's here. Andi asked if Amber could come as well, because they're really close now, and to be honest, I'm just waiting for them to confess their feelings and start dating. Jonah is still very single, although he's been hanging around Walker a lot lately, so I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm also no relationship expert—clearly. 

"I'm done," Jonah says ad he slaps down his last card onto the pile of Uno cards, and the whole group looks at him. 

"What?" Cyrus says. "But you didn't say Uno!"

Jonah just shrugs. "You didn't call me out."

Cyrus shakes his head, disappointed in himself, and continues the game, placing down another card. It's only him, Andi, and Amber left now, and they are all determined to win. Well, they were at the start. Now Amber and Andi are more focused on each other, giggling when one whispers some secret comment into the other girl's ear. TJ watches his sister with narrow eyes the whole time, trying to decode the situation going on here. 

I'm sitting across the circle from Kira. I thought that would help me to not think about her, but it only makes it really easy for me to look up at her frequently, which is a problem. I haven't been speaking to her that much. Even when I was setting up for my birthday after school, I wouldn't accept her help, because I didn't want to be around her. 

"Watching you stand on that chair's armrest kind of scares me," Kira said as she passed by the living room. "The streamers won't be worth it if you fall and break your neck. Do you want some help?"

"No, I'm fine," I replied, shutting her down. 

"Are you sure? I really don't mind."

"I'm sure," I insisted, my voice getting tense. "Just go do something else. I don't need your help."

She nodded and stepped away to go upstairs. The hurt on her face was clear, but I tried not to think about it. I couldn't let myself think too much about it, because then I would've felt bad and let her help me, and I really didn't need her to be kind to me at the moment. I would've rather she made snarky remarks, or shoot a death glare my way, or roll her eyes and sass me the way she used to, because then it would've been easy to stop wanting her around. If she would just be a jerk, then I would be able to kill this crush. 

But she's not like that. As I stand up from the game of Uno, announcing that I'm going to go to the kitchen to look for candles for the cake, she gets up too.

"I'll help you," she says. 

"No," I respond so snappy that even my other friends hear the tension and look up at me, but I pretend not to notice. "I mean I need someone tall to reach them." I turn to Cyrus's boyfriend. "TJ?"

He glances from Kira to me and then says, sounding uncertain, "Uh, sure."

Kira's eyes follow me as I leave toward the kitchen, but I don't look to match them. Once I get into the kitchen, I feel my lungs loosen a little, and I can breathe a bit freer. I open the pantry, inside which is a box of birthday candles sitting on the second shelf from the top. It's not that high. I could definitely reach it myself, but I turn to TJ anyway, wanting to keep up the lie. He just looks at me with eyes that say, _'are you kidding me?'_

"Buffy, you can reach that yourself," he says. 

Realizing he's not going to help, I grab the box myself and pull out four candles. Fourteen seems like a fire hazard, so I figure I'll be fine with less. I bring them over to the cake and start poking them into it in random places. They make sort of a really wonky trapezoid on the icing, and now I realize I probably should've made them a square, but I didn't even think about it. 

"Buffy, you good?" TJ questions, looking down at my candle placement. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply as though it's obvious. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, is there something going on with you and Kira?"

The mention of her name makes me nearly trip as I'm returning back to the pantry to put away the candles. I close the pantry door and spin around to TJ with a fake look of puzzlement on my face. 

"Of course. We're totally fine."

"Right, okay," he replies, not believing me. "If she's gone back to being mean again—"

"She's not," I cut him off. "Just stop. Please. We're fine."

He looks at me for another moment, unsure what to say, and I'm glad, because I'd rather he not say anything. All of a sudden, a cheer erupts from the living room, and Amber and Andi both groan. Cyrus must have just won. 

"Sounds like they're done Uno," I say. "How about we do cake now."

TJ lets me move on and comes with me to call the rest of our friends into the kitchen. Andi takes the initiative to grab the matches from the cabinet, and I step over, attempting to help, but she puts her hand up to block me. 

"You're the birthday girl," she says. "You just have to stand and let us sing to you."

"Andi, I don't want you to light my house on fire," I tell her. 

"I'll take care of it," Amber says, taking the matches from Andi. 

Amber strikes one and is able to set all the candles aflame before the fire reaches her fingers. Then she blows the match out and drops it into the sink. I stand at the end of the peninsula while my friends all take in breaths, getting ready to sing. 

"Ready, guys?" Ambers asks. "3, 2, 1!"

They are so off-key, but that's part of the charm of a birthday song. If it sounds good, it's simply not as fun. One voice that stands out to me happens to be the quietest, but her singing voice is so beautiful that I have trouble ignoring it. It's Kira. She's the farthest away from me, but not because I did that. She chose to stay away. I guess she didn't want to go through the usual routine of her trying to be next to me, and me running away.

At the end of the song, I blow out a big puff, and three of the four candles snuff out. 

"One boyfriend," Andi says with a laugh. 

I see Kira's eyes flash to mine, and I instantly get nervous, blowing out the last quickly. 

"I'll cut the cake," I say, wanting to just keep moving, because if I stand still, I think too much, and thinking means thinking about Kira. 

Andi and Amber step aside, and I round over to the cake. 

Then Kira comes over, saying, "I'll get a knife for you."

"Don't!" I react, whipping around to face her. 

My voice makes everyone go silent, and Kira looks at me with annoyance. I knew she was getting sick of me shutting her down, but this time, she actually does something. 

"Buffy, can I talk to you upstairs?" she asks, but it sounds more like an order than a question. 

I glance back to my friends who are all looking at me with concern. If I stay here, they will still be judging me in their heads. I suppose I have to deal with this. I just have no idea how.

"Okay," I answer. 

Kira walks up the stairs, and I trail a few steps behind the whole way. Once in my room, she closes the door gently then spins around to me, looking ready to explode. 

"What's wrong with you?" she interrogates. "You've been avoiding me for days, and it really doesn't feel good."

I don't know how to explain my actions without confessing my feelings, so I try to come up with my answer as I'm saying it, but it's definitely not a good one. 

"I just want some space," I say. 

"From me? Why? What did I do?"

_You were nice. That's what. You laughed, and you joked around, and you smiled. And you looked at me and touched me, and you made me feel things I don't want to feel._

"Like—like, you just get in the way all the time, and it annoys me," I sneer.

"Right," she scoffs, her eyes narrowing to a glare as she crosses her arms over her chest. "Yeah, I'm the annoying one. What about how you talk in your sleep, and it wakes me up every night, but I put up with it."

"Well, you're always bouncing your leg whenever you're working, and it makes the whole floor vibrate," I argue. 

"Buffy, I have ADHD," she retorts. 

I didn't know that, and I feel like a jerk for being upset about that now, but it's not enough to outweigh the part of my head that's simply angry at this whole situation. My eyes wander while I try to think of a better excuse, and they land on my desk. On it, my books have been shoved aside to make space for hers, and something about that angers me. She's not just taking over my thoughts and my dreams. She's taking over my literal space, and I really don't need that. I don't want that. I don't want constant reminders of her everywhere I look. 

"That!" I snap, pointing to my desk. "You're always moving my stuff, and I hate it!"

Kira's eyebrows go up, and I can see that she's fuming. "Oh, like this?" 

She stomps over to my desk and picks up the book I'm reading for English then throws it on the floor. It's not damaged, but that's besides the point. The point is she's being a bitch. She's trying to hurt me. This is precisely why I don't want to like her. She's way too unstable. 

"Yeah, like that!" I shout. "And I just want to get away from you, because you're always invading my space!"

"Like this?" she scoffs. 

She steps up to me, doing exactly what I said not to do, and I suddenly forget what I was trying to do in the first place. Wasn't I saying how I didn't want this? Why does it feel like I do? I think she's feeling the same sensation flood the room too, because the anger on her face seems to fade to just a blank stare. Now, a foot away from Kira, my words are taken over by the part of my brain that I've been trying to shut up. 

"Yes," I mutter, "and it's so annoying when your hands touch mine."

Her eyes fall downward as her fingers reach out and slip between mine, sending chills spiralling up my arms. My pulse is racing right now, and that's only amplified when her bold, brown eyes snap back up to mine, capturing me in their magnetic field. 

"And I hate it when you put your hand behind my jaw…" I say, my voice trailing off at the end.

Her touch on my neck shuts down that last speck of common sense I had left. The adrenaline rushing through me right now is so overwhelming that I can't possibly think straight—not that I was thinking straight to begin with anyway.

"What else?" Kira whispers, her eyes locked on mine. 

I take a shuttering breath and answer, "I hate it when you kiss me."

And then she does it. Her lips stimulate a string of electricity that encompasses my whole body, making my arms reach for her waist and tug her in against me. Every part of me is saying that this is right, and honestly I have no rational arguement to present anymore to say that it's not. Because she's kissing me, and she wants to kiss me. And yes, maybe she'll hurt me, but I'm more than willing to let her hurt me. She could break me apart, piece by piece. She could drown my heart in a pool of sour words that neither of us mean, but we're both too proud to take back. As long as this feeling stays, she can do anything she wants to me. I want her to do everything she wants to me. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. I thought this was entertaining. I hope all of you ship Kuffy now. Yeah, um. Have a nice day :)


	12. Chapter 12

It takes a while for either of us to let go and finally split apart, and when we do, our eyes stay together, wide in amazement. I just kissed Kira, or she kissed me, or both. Either way, I want to do it again. But we're both too in shock to do anything. 

She talks first, saying, "That was...um..."

"Yeah," I agree. 

Our smiles crack into laughter, and we both just stand there, giggling together for a minute. I think we both still don't really believe what just happened. 

"Uh..." Kira starts. "So you're...like...um...not straight?"

"Apparently," I reply. 

"Cool, um..." She grins. "Sorry, I don't know what to do now. I didn't think you'd actually ever like me back."

"Same," I say. She looks at me for another moment before I say, "I guess we should go back downstairs."

"Right, yeah," she says. "Uh, I'm just gonna take another minute."

"Okay."

Reluctantly, I step away and toward the door. Before leaving, I look back at her once more, and both of us smile again. When I get back into the kitchen, I'm still beaming from the previous experience. My friends have cut the cake and are munching on their own pieces, but now their eyes all turn to me. 

"What took you so long?" Andi asks. "We got impatient and started cutting the cake."

"Correction," Amber says. "Andi got impatient. The rest of us were fine."

I consider telling them the truth for a moment, but then I remember that they don't know about Kira being gay yet, and I'm not sure if she wants them to know. Although I kissed her, her sexual orientation is her business, so it's her choice who to tell and when. I'm not going to take that away from her.

"We had a lot to sort out," I explain. 

"Were you guys in a fight or something?" Jonah wonders. "Is that why you two were both so awkward and tense before?"

That's when Kira's footsteps steal the attention away from me as she saunters into the kitchen with a huge grin. 

"What's got you so giddy?" TJ questions. 

Kira glances to me, saying, "You didn't tell them?"

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to."

"Well, I don't mind."

"Do you want me to?"

She looks to our friends and makes the announcement before I can. "We kissed."

Everybody's jaws drop, but none farther than Cyrus's. 

"I knew it!" the boy shouts. "You lied! That is your tell!"

Kira looks between Cyrus and me. "Your tell?"

"She plays with her hair when she has a crush," Cyrus explains. 

"Wait really?" Kira responds. "I've seen you do that a lot."

I feel my face heating up, and Kira is just smiling, looking cuter than ever. Even through my current embarrassment, she manages to make me grin again, and we both giggle. Clearly, we're both still affected by the excitement of our kiss. 

"Wow," Andi says. "I never thought you guys would end up together, but you're actually adorable."

"What's your couple name?" Amber wonders. "Bira? Ew, no. Kuffy!"

"Amber," Cyrus says, "that's perfect!"

While our friends blabber on about the two of us, I lift a piece of cake into a bowl for Kira and pass it to her. Once I have my own, she comes over to me.

"Happy birthday," she says. 

"It is," I agree.

________________________________________

 _Smart Guy_ plays on the television while Kira and I rest on the couch, cuddled up together. Her hand hangs over my shoulder for me to hold, while my knees bridge over hers. We look like a knotted rope, and neither one of us wants to fray. 

"Okay," Kira says over the sound of the TV, "I want to know how long you've liked me for."

"What about you?" I counter. "How long have you liked me for?"

"I asked first," she says. 

"Fine," I huff. "Um, I don't really know when it started exactly, but I realized I liked you when I also started avoiding you a few days ago."

"Buffy Driscoll, the master of handling her feelings."

"Yeah, yeah. What about you?"

She smiles for a moment and hesitates before answering, "Um, let's just say I've liked you for a while."

"No fair. I gave you an answer."

"Okay," she obliges. "Remember that girl I told you about?"

"Wait," I say. "That was me?"

Kira nods. "I, too, am not so good at feelings. I'm better now, though, I think."

"So you won't run away if I do this?"

I lean closer, bringing my lips in to hers, and she accepts the kiss, slow and sweet like syrup.

When the front doorknob jiggles and swings open, we snap apart in an instant, retreating away to separate sides of the couch. Our parents enter in with smiles as they remove their coats. 

"You two are still up?" my mom says. 

"It's past midnight," Crystal points out. 

"How was the party?" my dad asks. 

"Good," I reply. "Kira and I also washed all the dishes, so there's nothing for you guys to worry about."

"Oh, wonderful," my mom says. "Well, we're going to set up the bed for Kira's parents, so would you girls mind moving upstairs?"

"Nope. Sure thing," Kira says. 

We both get up, and her hand almost reaches for mine as we start up the stairs, but then she thinks better of it and pulls it back. 

"Have a good night," Paul calls out.

Once safely behind our sealed bedroom door, Kira turns to me. 

"Buffy, how do I tell them?" she asks. 

"Do you want to tell them?" I respond. 

"I do," she confirms. 

"Are you sure? You know you don't have to come out to them yet. You haven't even been out to yourself for that long, and you said how you thought they wouldn't accept you. I don't want you to come out if it's not safe for you."

"I think they might be okay with it," Kira says.

"Might?" _That doesn't sound promising._

"I think a lot of my beliefs came from everything around me like the community I'd been exposed to and the values that were presented to me externally, but I don't think my parents have really said much about what they think."

"Then wouldn't it be better to wait until you know more?"

"But I don't want to wait. Waiting feels like hiding, and I don't want to hide. Everyday that I don't tell them feels like I'm lying to them. I know I'm not lying outright, but maybe one day I'll have to, and I want to be able to say the truth."

"Kira, I'm not going to stop you if you decide to tell them, but I just want to make sure you think about all the possible consequences first."

She nods, pondering over that. "Okay. I'll think about it."

"Thank you," I say. 

I take her hands as I step up to her and kiss her once more before returning back.

"I'm gonna go get ready for bed now," I say. 

"Okay," she responds. "I guess I will too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a very short chapter, I know. I hope you are all excited to find out how this story concludes. I love you all still. Have a lovely day.


	13. Chapter 13

It's been almost a week since my birthday, and Kira hasn't brought up the topic of coming out again, so I'm convinced that she's decided it wouldn't be wise. Honestly, I'm relieved. I don't know her parents as well as she does of course, but even so, from the way she used to hate herself, I don't have much faith that her parents would be very supportive. The thought of anything happening to her as a result of her being truthful terrifies me, and as hard as it is for her to stay quiet, ultimately, I think she's smart for doing so. She shouldn't feel like she has to come out, especially if it's not safe. I don't know if it's safe, but I'd rather she not take the risk. 

Of course, there's always a certain tension at dinner nowadays. While our parents all talk together about their days at work, Kira and I are busy stealing glances at each other and trying to stifle our laughter that unintentionally always happens. Our parents just think we've become really good friends, which I guess we have, but add 'girl' in front of that word, and it would be more accurate. 

"There was a really nice news story today," Paul says through a mouthful of asparagus. "A girl in Salt Lake City woke up from a coma after months and surprised her school's theatre club on the opening night of their musical."

"That's so nice," my mom responds. "That would've been such a great surprise for her friends."

Kira and I listen from the sidelines while we eat our food. Well, I'm eating my food. Kira has stopped, and she now looks like she's contemplating something. 

"And there's a story on an eight year-old boy who started his own charity based right here in Shadyside," Paul goes on.

"Oh, wow," my dad says. 

"That's so sweet so hear kids being so thoughtful," Crystal says. 

"I'm gay," Kira says. 

Forks clink as they hit the plates beneath them, and all eyes flip to my girlfriend. After a moment of silence, my parents turn their attention to Kira's parents, waiting for them to speak, but her parents both look like they've seen a zombie. 

"You're what?" is all Crystal manages to say. 

At that, my mom looks between me and Kira, telling us, "Girls, why don't you two go outside and get some fresh air while us adults have a quick chat."

I spring out of my chair immediately, eager to get away from this situation. As I round the table over to where Kira is, she stands up and trails after me, heading out through the front door, neither of us even bothering to put shoes on. We step out onto the porch in our socks, and I close the door tight behind us. When I turn around, Kira is lowering down to sit cross-legged on the grass in my front yard. I make my way over to sit down right in front of her, still kind of in shock about what just happened.

She picks at the grass between us, and I scoot forward so that our knees are touching. The atmosphere always feels smoother on my skin when we're connected, and I think she feels the same way, because she smiles softly while continuing to pick at the green. 

"You didn't tell me you were going to come out today," I utter. 

She drops the clump of grass onto the dirt beside her and looks up at me, dropping her hands into her lap. 

"I wasn't going to," she says, "but I ended up thinking it so loud in my head that it came out of my mouth." Her hands begin to play with the grass again, yet I don't think she actually realizes it. "Sometimes, I just—I think to a point where I can't focus on anything until I get my thoughts out into words," she explains. "I was going to have to come out to them at some point, and the longer I waited, the more stressed I got, and…yeah."

She looks down at the grass, which is almost all gone, by her feet. She freezes for a second when I reach out and take both her hands in mine, but as I lace my fingers through hers, a gentle smile appears on her previously nervous face. 

"I like you," she whispers. 

"I like you too," I respond. "That's why I wish you would've talked to me first, because I don't like thinking that anything bad could happen to you."

"Buffy, neither of us are the type to ask for permission before we do things."

Yeah, she's right. If I were in her place, I probably wouldn't have talked to her first either, because I would know that she would try to talk me out of it, and I wouldn't want a debate. I would just want to make a decision and follow through with it. No need for permission. 

"I hope you're not mad at me," Kira says after another moment. 

I shake my head. "It's kinda hard to be mad at you anymore."

The front door swings open, and our hands drop apart as we both look to Kira's mom standing in the doorway. 

"Kira, honey," she calls out, "can you come on in?"

Kira returns her eyes to me once more, and I see both the sparkling hope and the foggy fear inside them. She stands up from the grass and walks toward the house, and once she's disappeared upstairs with her parents, I go inside too, but I head into the kitchen where my own parents are standing. 

"What did you say to them?" I ask. 

"Just made sure they understood how to handle this situation," my dad answers. "Told them some facts that they should be aware of."

"I think their conversation with Kira is going to go a lot better now," my mom adds. 

I know my parents don't have a problem with the LGBTQ+. The first time I mentioned to them that Cyrus and TJ were boyfriends, they just said how they seemed good together, so I have faith that whatever they told Kira's parents was the right thing. I just really hope Kira's parents listened to that. 

"Cool," I say, "so, um, while we're on the topic, I'm bisexual, and I'm kind of dating Kira."

"Well, we didn't know about Kira," Mom replies.

"Wait." I furrow my brows, confused. "But you knew about me? I didn't even know about me until, like, a week ago."

"I had a hunch," Mom says. 

"Your mom's always right," Dad says. "Didn't you know that?"

The sound of footsteps behind me steals my focus, and I spin around to see Kira with tears streaked down her face. The second I see her, terror floods through me, but then she smiles. I run up to hug her, and she takes me in, holding me tight. Her sobbing fades into laughter soon, and I firm my grip. 

"You aren't allowed to do things that scare me anymore," I whisper. 

"You really expect me to listen?" she responds. 

"No, but I was hoping you might."

She lets me go, and I can see her eyes starting to look less puffy as they dry. 

"I'll make a deal," she says. "If I do something scary, I'll make sure you can do it with me."

I smile. "That works too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Only one more part left. I'm not sure if I'll be able to have it tonight, because it's my friend's birthday, and we're video-calling, but I'll try. Melissa, if you're reading this, happy birthday! I love you, lovely. And I love you, readers. Have a lovely night.


	14. Epilogue

After exiting the car, Kira's parents go on in first, but I'm too astounded by the sight before me. Kira's hand holds mine, proving that this, this giant house on the hill with victorian-style touches and a view that overlooks the rest of Shadyside, is real. The trees in this neighbourhood are huge too, towering over the homes and covering the street in a ceiling of foliage. I can't believe this is where she lives now. 

Kira's family never went to court. They almost did, but then the demolition company realized that they would probably be better off just paying the plaintiffs rather than having to waste money on legal fees for a case they couldn't win. That left Kira's family with a few million dollars to cover the house and the irreplaceable sentimental items that were destroyed. Obviously, there's no way to pay for those broken treasures, but since Kira couldn't get those back, it doesn't hurt to get a mansion. 

She leads me inside, and I gaze up at the high ceiling and chandelier that hangs in the entryway. The kitchen has tall windows that let sunlight brighten the modern design, and several photos of Kira's family have been reprinted and reframed to decorate the walls, although some weren't digitalized, and those were lost. 

"Kira, this is…" I'm at a loss for words. 

"Yeah," Kira says. "I know." Then she tugs my hand. "Come see this."

She pulls me over to the french doors in the dining room that lead out to her backyard. The garden is filled with vibrant flowers, and stones frame a pond that runs from a mini waterfall in the yard. Beyond the grass, I can see all the houses below our ledge in the hillside. They look like the houses from the Peter Pan ride at Disneyland, getting smaller as I look out farther. 

"I can't believe you get to live here," I say. 

"It's surreal," Kira agrees. 

Her hand adjusts to get a better hold through mine, and I look over at her. The wind blows a loose curl over her forehead, so I reach up to brush it up out of the way. As I do that, her eyes turn to meet mine, and she smiles. 

"This is surreal," she says. Then she clarifies, "Us. Never in a million years did I ever think we'd end up here—or anywhere—together."

"Yeah," I breathe. "If someone had told me a few months ago that I was going to fall in love with you, I would've said they were insane."

Kira's eyes widen, and I realize what I just said. But I don't take it back. To take it back would suggest that I didn't mean it. I meant it. 

"In love?" Kira echoes. 

I bite my lip nervously then confirm, "Yeah."

She smiles and glances down before looking back up at me and saying, "I love you too."

Her eyes stay with mine, and soon we end up giggling the way we always do when we're both really happy. 

"This might be selfish of me to say," I start, "but I'm glad your house was demolished."

"I don't think it's selfish," Kira says, "because I'm glad too. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do this."

She steps in, sealing the gap between us, and kisses me. I can't believe I used to hate this girl, and now I love her. I went from one extreme to the other. Her hands are on my waist, holding my body against hers and electrifying my pulse. She's kind of like electricity herself. Without her, I wouldn't know that anything could ever be brighter, but now that I have her, I don't know how I ever lived without her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm tired, so I'm going to bed, but I hope you liked this ending. It look me a while to get right. Anyway, have a lovely night. I love you all.


End file.
